Chapter 2- Collars and Suits

Leah was on a plane to Los Angeles two days later. She spent most of her time up until landing in LA deeply regretting her choices in life. This was not a smart plan. It was too quick and too dangerous.

Homeland Security. God only knew why the Irish wanted an Agent for Homeland Security dead. And now she was involved.

Well, she could probably still pull out. She hadn't even seen Agent Gallo in person yet. She was only in town.

Sitting in first class, Leah was going over the small file that Andy had been able to put together on this Cabe Gallo. Almost 60, divorced, deceased child, former Marine, former Federal Agent. What a guy. The best way to take him out would be a sniper shot. Anything up close and she couldn't guarantee she'd get the job done.

She had to say though, looking at his photo, he was handsome. Old, but handsome.

Leah didn't get to ask questions as the hired hand. Andy told her who to kill and she'd kill them. She didn't ask why, though usually in her tracking of the mark the reason would make itself clear. With Agent Gallo, she was at a loss. In his work with Homeland Security, he had no connection to the Irish mob that she could see.

He came across as a decent person, so he wasn't on their payroll. He wasn't making deals. He was a good agent.

So why did Andy want him dead? And why did Andy want her to do it? He seemed pretty insistent. She knew it wasn't just about her doing as he asked. There was something more to it.

He knew her rules, whether he ignored them or not. He knew how she felt about killing law enforcement.

She didn't want to kill innocents. Although Leah could never be absolutely certain, and it depended on your definition of innocent, she was sure she'd been pretty careful over the years. While you could never be positive with law enforcement, Leah tried to steer clear.

She had been a cop once, years and years ago. It hadn't worked out for various reasons, including her inability to follow the rule book in a host of ways. And the other cops didn't like her.

The question she had now was what would she do? This Agent Gallo didn't have the hallmarks of her typical victims. So that had to mean that the Irish wanted him gone simply because he was in their way. He wasn't crooked or corrupt. He was simply doing his job.

That wasn't something she took care of. She dealt with the bad guys. Rule #2: Only kill someone who deserves it.

Agent Gallo, as far as she could see, didn't deserve it.

This was her fault, really. A hired gun? What was she thinking?

Dumb. She was dumb.

Leah had never been to Los Angeles before. The farthest west she had been was Austin. She had heard that traffic in the city was bad, but this was awful. Considering she currently lived in New York City, she shouldn't be that bothered by traffic.

But holy shit was traffic in Los Angeles awful. It took forever to get out of LAX.

By the time Leah reached her hotel, a mere 11 miles from LAX, she was pissed. She had already wasted a good hour between getting her stuff off the plane and getting to her hotel. She was also extremely bored.

Settling into her hotel room, Leah tried to plan her next move. Obviously, she had to find Gallo. And then she'd have to watch him. Only then could she formulate her plan to kill him and escape L.A.

Oh, she was dumb.

As she snacked on McDonald's French Fries, Leah looked over her file on Agent Gallo again. She wasn't able to get everything on him, but enough to know he was, obviously, working in Los Angeles for Homeland Security. His file also mentioned he was working in on a special project, but didn't say anything else.

So, her next step was to break into Homeland Security. Or find someone to hack in for her, but as an assassin, she didn't know many hackers. And certainly not anyone she trusted to do this for her. While a lot of big names hackers claimed they didn't mind hacking the government, fewer would actually do it.

Like usual, she was on her own. Leah generally preferred it that way.

She had broken into a federal building once before. She got shot on her way out, however. Leah wasn't really looking to get shot again.

Luckily, she was partially prepared for breaking into a federal building.

Changing into a black pantsuit, Leah hailed a cab and headed out to the U.S. Homeland Security Office. Armed with a fake I.D., Leah walked right in the front door. With all of the confidence of an agent that actually works in the office, the woman breezed through security, signing in at the front desk as required of a visiting officer.

Now was the hard part. She needed to get on a computer to access information about Agent Gallo. That was a bit harder. She would have to find an empty office that would be empty for long enough. Or she could find a port to plug her laptop in. Problem was, there were cameras everywhere. She would dodge them as best she could, but there was still the risk they'd see her face.

Her wig, which made her a blonde as opposed to the brunette she was, only gave her so much of a disguise. But then again, the government knew very well that she was a hired gun. It wasn't like she hadn't been to prison before. If they caught her, or was troubled by her, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who she was.

She had to be quick. She couldn't just wander the halls until she found an office or someplace to plug her laptop in. Leah would just have to choose.

So she stayed on the first floor and headed for the janitor's office. That would be hopefully be the easiest. She navigated the lobby and headed through a door and down a long hallway. Her eyes scanned the hallway as she went, keeping an eye out for exits and anybody else. Luckily, there were only a few people in this part of the building. She needed luck.

Leah found the main office empty, slipped on latex gloves, and headed in, shutting the door behind her and locking it. She closed the blinds on the door and got to work. Plugging in her laptop, she began connecting to Homeland's network. She had to get out of here quick. Who knows when somebody would even walk by.

Her fingers moved quickly as she logged in. Leah moved straight for Agent Cabe Gallo's file.

"Oh pretty," she murmured to herself as his photo came up. She scrolled through his file, eyes scanning for something about where he was.

"Oh, what's this…," her eyes caught a word. Scorpion. "What the fuck is Scorpion?" she asked herself.

Searching through, she found only an address. A garage not far away.

"Time to meet Scorpion."

With her information found, Leah unplugged her computer and put it back in her bag. She wiped down the surfaces she touched, just in case, and then left the office. Once the door was shut behind her, she slipped her gloves off and put them in the bag.

The first part of the job done, she just had to get out of the building alive. And not in handcuffs.

Leah tried to walk as quickly as she could, without being obvious, but it was hard. She was getting anxious. That wasn't good. She didn't get anxious often. It wouldn't work in her job, but every once in a while, it crept up on her.

She used her shoulder to push through to the lobby and was met by a throng of people. Careful to avoid eye contact, but not look too shifty, Leah continued through the lobby and towards the door.

"Excuse me, miss?" someone called out.

Leah's heart skipped a beat and looked back over her shoulder. A security guard came around the desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked sweetly in a southern accent.

"Sorry, you've got to sign out," he said, pointing to the desk.

Leah chuckled and headed back. "Of course. You think I could remember that. Sorry, sir." She quickly signed out. She winked at the guard as she turned to leave.

God, she was dumb.